wheels

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of wheel.

   The wheels of the train screeched against the rails as it slowed.

   Factory workers fitted new wheels onto each chassis along the line.

   Note

   An ordinary -s plural that covers every kind of wheel the singular names: a train's wheels, a ship's steering wheels, spinning and potter's wheels. The same spelling does other work, too. It is the verb form in "the hawk wheels", and on its own it can mean a car. The word looks the same each time, so only context tells a reader which wheels are meant.

2. 2
   nounmetonymicallyplural

   An automobile or other vehicle that one drives; a set of wheels regarded as transportation.

   He pulled up to the party in some flashy wheels.

   She finally has her own wheels and drives herself to work now.

   Similarcar, ride, motor

   Note

   Here the part stands for the whole: a car is named for the things it rolls on. The word is plural-only, so a single vehicle is still "wheels", as in "Like my new wheels?" Never call it "a wheel", which means just the part. A number in front, as in "rolling 18 wheels", keeps the literal count in view while naming the whole vehicle.

3. 3
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of wheel.

   The hawk wheels overhead, scanning the open field below.

   An attendant wheels the patient toward the operating room.

   Note

   One form, two quite different constructions. With an object, someone wheels something along: a patient, a cart, anything that rolls. Without one, the subject itself turns or circles: a hawk wheels overhead, a soldier wheels around to face a noise. Using it to mean riding a bicycle, as in "he wheels to work", now sounds dated.

4. 4
   nounslangplural

   Well-developed thigh muscles, especially as built up through serious training.

   The sprinter's wheels were the envy of the whole team.

   He never skips leg day, and his wheels show it.

   Similarquads, thighs

   Note

   Gym slang, and nearly always a compliment: the thighs admired as the payoff of hard leg days. It is plural-only and usually arrives with praise attached, as in "those wheels" or "big wheels". It covers the front and back of the thigh alike, the "quads and hams" of Jim Stoppani's Encyclopedia of Muscle & Strength (2006). Outside fitness talk, listeners may hear a car instead, so it is safest among people who lift.

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